Now ‘openly Jewish’ campaigner says he has 1,500 supporters to join him on Palestine march
MORE than 1,500 protesters are set to descend on a pro-Palestinian march this weekend to press Scotland Yard to keep the streets safe for Jewish people.
The Met faces potential clashes after an anti-Semitism campaigner threatened with arrest for being ‘openly Jewish’ launched the ‘walk together’ campaign.
Gideon Falter is encouraging people to follow the route of a pro-Palestinian march in London to ‘force the police to make sure that these things are safe for Jewish people’.
Rishi Sunak piled pressure on Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley yesterday, saying the force must rebuild
‘I share the shock and anger’
the trust of the Jewish community.
The Prime Minister said he shared the public’s fury after Mr Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was threatened with arrest by a Met officer who described him as ‘ openly Jewish’ and said his presence was antagonising pro-Palestine demonstrators.
Since the incident on April 13, almost 9,000 people have signed a petition calling for the resignation of Britain’s top police officer.
Mr Sunak said: ‘I share the shock and the anger that many are feeling when they saw the clips over the weekend. And you know what I would say about Mark Rowley and the police, they do have a difficult job, of course I appreciate that.
‘But what happened was clearly wrong. And it’s right that they’ve apologised for that.
‘And yes, I do have confidence in him, but that’s on the basis that he works to rebuild the confidence and trust of not just the Jewish community, but the wider public, particularly people in London but more broadly.’
Sir Mark has come under sustained criticism from senior figures, including former home secretary Suella Braverman who told Radio 4 yesterday: ‘ The police have chosen a side.’
Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell told Sky News: ‘There are strategic issues... how we ensure that Jewish people, people of any faith at all, can go about their business.’
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the incident ‘clearly wasn’t handled properly ... but the police work immensely hard every single day to keep us safe’.
Yesterday Sir Mark faced a series of meetings with Home Secretary James Cleverly and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
He also met representatives of Jewish groups including the Community Security Trust and London Jewish Forum. They said in a joint statement: ‘We urge the police and Government to work together to find ways to limit the impact ( of demonstrations) through reducing the number of protests, moving them to less disruptive locations and acting firmly and consistently whenever offences are committed.’
Mr Khan said his meeting had led to a frank and constructive discussion. Last night more than 1,600 people had signed an online invite for Mr Falter’s ‘ walk together’ initiative on Saturday.